APS
Analysis of Beethoven Hair Sample Yields Clues to Composer's Life and
Death

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) has played an
important role in a four-year project to solve the mystery of what
caused composer Ludwig
von Beethoven's years of chronic
illness. The probable answer: lead poisoning. This toxin also may
have contributed to his death.

A team of researchers expert in chemical
analysis found unusually high levels of lead concentration in
eight
strands of Beethoven's hair, according
to the project director, William Walsh, who is also chief scientist
of Health Research Institute, Naperville, IL. Walsh, a nationally
known expert in hair and chemical analysis, was recruited for the
project by Beethoven enthusiasts Ira Brilliant and Che Guevara, who
purchased the Beethoven
hair in 1994 through Sotheby's in
London. The two men selected Walsh to determine if there were any
scientific lessons to be learned from the hair.

At a press conference held at the Department of
Energy's Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory on
October 17, 2000, Walsh announced the Beethoven findings.

"Beethoven saw physician after physician in
search of a cure for his physical ailments," said Walsh. "He suffered
from bad digestion, chronic abdominal pain, irritability and
depression. It was such a concern to him that years before his death
he wrote a letter to his brothers that said, 'As soon as I am dead,
if Dr. Schmidt is still alive, ask him in my name to discover my
disease, and attach this written document to his account of my
illness so at least as much as possible the world may be reconciled
to me after my death.' "

Since he died in 1827 at age 57, there has been
much speculation but no proof as to the cause of Beethoven's
illnesses and death.

"Independent analyses of Beethoven's hair show
that he had plumbism - or lead poisoning - which could explain his
life-long illnesses. It would also have had an impact on his
personality and could have contributed to his death," said Walsh.
Walsh doubts that lead poisoning caused his deafness, but research
continues in that area and it is hoped that there will be results to
report within the year.

The Argonne scientists who carried out the
studies at the APS, Francesco De Carlo (Experimental Facilities
Division), Ken Kemner (Environmental Research Division), and Derrick
Mancini (Experimental Facilities Division), point out that their
x-ray analysis gave an average value for lead concentration in
Beethoven's hair to be ~60 parts per million (ppm). The average U.S.
human hair contains less than 1 ppm.

"Everything about this project has been
fascinating," said Walsh, who worked with McCrone Research Institute,
Chicago, and the APS on the analysis. "You can learn a great deal
about a person from hair analysis and the labs at McCrone and Argonne
used the most sophisticated technology available in the world today
for this project."

In the course of the project, Walsh looked for
distinctive trace-metal patterns associated with genius,
irritability, glucose disorders and malabsorption and found they were
not present in the Beethoven samples. He also looked for the presence
of mercury, which would have suggested that Beethoven received
medical treatment for syphilis, which was usually treated in that
period with mercury compounds, and which some Beethoven scholars
suspected he had contracted. No mercury was found.

A DNA analysis also was performed and has
defined a significant portion of Beethoven's genetic make-up. This
information will be used in future research studying musical genius.
Another analysis indicated that Beethoven avoided opiate painkillers
during his long and painful death, keeping his mind clear for his
music, which he continued working on until the day he died.

That Beethoven's hair survived into the 21st
century is, in itself, a
fascinating story that began with a
young musician, Ferdinand Hiller, clipping it from Beethoven's head
the day after he died. It was then passed from generation to
generation of Hillers, and wound up in the hands of a Danish
physician, Kay Fremming, who was deeply involved in the effort to
save Jews in Nazi-occupied Denmark. It is believed Fremming was given
the hair in gratitude for his work on behalf of the Jews. After
Fremming's death, his daughter assigned it for sale with Sotheby's
and it was purchased by the two Americans, who then launched the
research project. The journey of the hair is the subject of a book,
Beethoven's Hair, which is being released this week by Broadway Books,
and was written by Russell Martin.